Catching Up

Happy 2011 everyone!

We are already two weeks into the year and so many exciting changes are going on around here. We had put our house on the market at the end of the year. Surprisingly, even with great curb appeal we didn't get an offer...
I mean who wouldn't want a house with a jacked up 'rolla missing a wheel in the driveway;-) Just kidding, the car only stayed like this for an hour or so while my awesome hubby fixed the car.

All in all, it was surprisingly a good experience. I learned that I can keep the house in excellent condition when I try hard enough (not that this is always the expectation, but I think I had been giving myself too much slack at times), looking at other homes in other areas helped us to realize how much we love where we are currently and blessed to be in the home we are in, and probably the best part was forcing us to declutter and purge closets and the unfinished basement - both of which were way overdue! We ended up coming in second on the list of potential homebuyers two times and the day we took it off the market had an offer to rent our house for 3 years for more than double our mortgage. For such a slow time on the market and only trying to sell it for 3 months, I was happy with the amount of interest on it. But am thrilled to not have to worry about showings for a LOOONG time!

In the meantime, we are doing a little renovating in the kitchen. Here's a before pic:
here's a during pic:countertops and the border (Praise God!) are gone. Already missing my kitchen faucet, its one of those things that you use, oh say, about every hour. But it should be back by tomorrow night:-)

Each of our precious boys has also had an interesting couple of weeks:
Grant started kindergarten! Yes, starting mid year is a tad unusual but we are so proud of Grant adjusting very quickly. Grant has a late summer birthday and the school he will attend for elementary (Lord willing) has a early summer cut off. We were fine with this and had him in 4 year old preschool. After counsel from his preK teacher and finding the program he is in, we decided to make the switch to kindergarten. We really didn't know how things would go, but we have been thrilled with how much Grant wants to go everyday and is quickly progressing in academics. He wrote his first "story" tonight. It says, Grant has cars and jets. Seriously, two weeks ago he had no interest in writing beyond his name so this is exciting for us. What does this mean for next year? We don't know for sure. He will most likely be doing kindergarten again because the school he will go to has a rigorous behavioral and academic standards. We really think he would benefit by having another year of maturity before going to a whole day school. But, we are holding our plans loosely. As God so clearly showed us, He has a perfect plan and will show us that plan in His timing. I wasted many hours worrying about what to do, when God showed us at the right time. So honestly, I don't know what next year will look like and that's okay, but God has his perfect plan for Grant. Although I always knew it, its so joyful to have full belief in it!

And for our super huggable yet very devious middle child? Well Colin quickly mastered potty training. In a little over two weeks Colin had the whole thing down, including night time and naps. Sometimes it pays to wait until they are older. We are so thankful for an easy transition!
And for our sweet baby, Evan James? Who is already eight months old. EIGHT MONTHS OLD!! After getting his first ear infection and not being able to get over it with antibiotics and having fluid hanging out in his ears, we were being advised tubes would be best for him. God gave me great peace about the surgery and it went very smoothly. It only broke my heart when he woke up from the anesthesia. They warn you that they may be really upset, but it was so hard to hold him and not be able to calm him down for over 30 minutes! I ended up taking him home still crying. He cried home (we were only a couple of miles from where they put them in), I bring him in crying, he sees his brothers and starts cracking up with laughter. Ahhh, for as a crazy as my house is, there is always so much joy too. He is sleeping through the night, something he hadn't done since he got the infection in November and already added ba ba and ma ma to his vocabulary. I would say we are all thankful for the surgery!

And for Kurt and I, we feel God is continuing to change and grow us. I have started a fantastic new devotional on the proper way to view food called the Lord's Table. Its not a diet but a devotion to taking care of yourself in way that glorifies God and making sure you aren't using food to fulfill something that only God can. I'm excited to grow in this area of my life as it has always been a struggle for me.

Kurt at one point was looking into a different position within Toyota, but after much prayer God made it apparent that he is to stay where he is at. Kurt said it was like having cold water splashed on his face and it has really re-energized him in his current role. I'm so thankful for this, Kurt has always worked so hard to provide for us so I am so happy to see him at peace where God has him.

So we continue on in 2011 seeking, changing, and TRUSTING in our Almighty Saviour. We pray the same for your family this year as well!
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Bathtime

It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Colin being big enough to go in the big tub with big brother.

But time keeps moving at a ridiculously fast pace and guess who got to join his big bubbas in the
tub tonight...The result was a splashin' success! All three loved it and we had a soaking wet floor to prove it.

Its a hard life...

Its a hard life, but Evan leads it so well. You gotta grab a nap where you can get it somedays!

Redsfest and Downtown Festivities

What a fun evening! Exhausting as is any outing with our family right now, but fun nonetheless! We were given free tickets to Redsfest and decided to go late and enjoy Cincy's Christmas downtown celebrations too. We loved it although we agree Redsfest will be more fun for our crew once everyone is a little older. BTW, if you think you might have problems keeping track of your children, dressing them all in red and putting them in a packed area where EVERYTHING is red is not such a good idea...Probably our favorite part, driving the pedal cars.Is this kid a stud or what??EJ was such a trooper the whole night, so thankful he's an easygoing squirt;-)A little late night running in the snow.And after the snow strip down to get ready for bed!! Such a good evening and much needed quality family time event together. Thankful for my family - as crazy as we all might be:-)

Thanksgiving - check!

Wow, its been a crazy busy, but oh so good November! We started the month off seeing our favorite niece Caroline. She fits in perfectly with my boys (read: very active and has opinions on how the show should run:-) Already looking forward to our week together this summer.

And then we celebrated Thanksgiving with my extended relatives this past weekend. Oh. my. goodness. My aunts know how to cook!! Dumplings, deep fried turkey, cheese ball made especially for me!, too many casseroles to name, and of course we must start out the day with Krispy Kreme donuts. I am glad I live 5 hours away, or I would seriously need some bigger jeans. I already do after just one day with them, but it was worth it!

Its always a special time for me to visit because it brings back some of my favorite memories from my childhood of playing with cousins at my grandparents house. My grandparents have passed on but my uncle now has the home. Its so special to see my kids look forward to going and playing with my cousins children. They disappeared for hours playing tag, and hide and go seek. I'm usually a "hoverer" and checking to make sure they are playing appropriately, but I remember my parents being hands off while I was at grandma's and thought my boy's deserve that experience too.

It was an extra special trip this time because we got to visit Uncle Fred's farm. My boys begged the whole week beforehand if we could go. How could I deny them? It turned into a whole family affair with the wagon ride and feeding of the chickens and pigs. In a few years we'll have to make plans to come to the annual hog killing. But I'm not sure they are quite ready for that yet:-)Knee deep in leaves - does it get any better?

A little hard to see, but that's pure joy on Colin's face:-)
The wagon ride where Uncle Fred made sure to find all the ditches!
How do you make three boys smile for the camera? Make them say chicken. Yeah, I don't get it, but apparently anything chicken is the funniest thing ever right now for my boys... Yeah, hmm, not much to say about that. But isn't that the most perfect farm house in the background?Checking out the chickens in the coop. Already looking forward to my cage free/range free eggs I scored from the visit. Quiche anyone?

Happy Thanksgiving! Thankful to be done with our travelling for the holiday and looking forward to celebrating the big day with our KY friends (family). Love to all and safe travels!!

Under the Sea

We've had fun dressing up the kids for Halloween events. By the time the holiday actually rolls around, I'm always DONE with all the dressing up and definitely DONE with all the candy that I can't seem to keep my hands out of this year. But its fun, all the kids enjoy their outfits this year. I bought the older two on Nov. 1 last year, so I have been preparing them all year of what their costume will be. I figure its the last year where I get to choose, so I lived it up;-)Whoa, I'm scared of this shark. Aren't you?;-)I've already had conversations in my head with my future daughter in laws about these pictures. I'll pull out the pictures. They'll gush and say. "They are so cute" "Great costumes." Wait, you say that's odd that I'm having conversations with women who possibly aren't even born? Um yeah, I'll make sure to add that to the prayer list at small group tomorrow night;-) I'm sure there's no way that I'm having unrealistic expectations. Never. No way. Well, okay probably;-)

Life

I'm going to warn you from the beginning, its been an interesting week, I am on some serious muscle relaxers and I'm not sure how coherent my thoughts will be, so please forgive my rambling thoughts.
On Tuesday evening, I was rear ended and the collision sent me into the car in front of me. I basically took two substantial hits. Immediately, it was obvious there was a huge blessing. I did not have any of my kids with me. I can't tell you how rare it is to not have any of my kids in the van. Isn't God good? He protected my children from this wreck!! Another praise, the person who hit me has insurance and admitted fault. Basically, I will be reimbursed for my van and medical apptmts from the wreck. Wow again - huge blessings!

Here's the downside: my van will never be worth what it was, it was a 2008 with only 35K miles and paid off. It probably sustained over 10K worth of damage. A vehicle with that much damage will never be worth as much. Bummer. At first, I thought I didn't really get hurt. But things are slowly beginning to show up. I have some substantial weakness in my right arm/hand and from my neck to my hips is a constant, dull ache. With all that said the Scripture that God has laid on my heart is Ecc 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other…” Regardless of what happens down the road, whether good or bad, it doesn't change God, he is always loving and always good. This is a concept I'm still trying to grasp, but find so much comfort in.

So here is some fun stuff. I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in 2004. I learned then that there are some serious limitations to Western medicine. Basically, the disease is when your body gets confused and attacks your thyroid like its a foreign invader. This causes the thyroid to overproduce hormone. The result was my heart rate that was normally in the 60 beats per minute raced into the 100 beats per minute, severe, severe anxiety, and constant shaking. 24/7 I felt like I had drank 20 Mountain Dews and the worst paranoia that something seriously wrong was going to happen. To slow down my heart and help with anxiety, they placed me on beta blockers. While the beta blockers did slow down my heart, they also made me feel seriously drugged and like a had the flu for 7 months straight. Basically, the Dr's didn't have much to offer me and the side effects of the medication were necessary.

After that, I have become much more interested in holistic medication and now with my physical complaints I am taking a much more holistic approach. I had my first acupuncture treatment today. They also did cupping. Check out this pict:
It doesn't hurt and they place fire in a glass cup (think Mason Jar) and quick flip onto my back creating a suction. The suction causes blood flow to increase to the damaged areas. The acupuncture was cool too. She placed one needle in my pinkie and I immediately felt it in my face. She explained how the meridian is all connected. Cool stuff. Although, this may not heal me 100%, I am so much more supportive of it than typical medicine. I went to my normal Dr. yesterday who informed me that I hadn't broken any bones. Gee, thanks, couldn't have told her that already;-) and prescribed some serious muscle relaxers with a list of side effects a mile long. So now because of the muscle relaxers I have some serious stomach issues and insomnia, which is why this blog is being updated at 4:30 am. The holistic stuff does not cause any negative side effects (except for the temporary discoloration of my skin as in the photo above). But yet, insurance won't accept it but is so willing to pay for medicine that can cause so much other injury. Craziness!!

In closing, many of you have prayed for me and offered to help me this week. I greatly appreciate all you have done for me and am so blessed to have loved ones so willing to serve me in a time of need. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that!